Witness told to 'hide the guns,' court hears in trial of 2 men shot in Christmas Day altercation

Victim of shooting testifies leaving boots at door proves he was invited in

The man who drove his two friends to a house in Pleasant Grove, P.E.I., where they were shot and wounded, testified at their trial Friday.

Brodie Joseph McQuaid, 25, and Matthew Lindsey Eric Clarke, 30, are on trial facing break and enter and assault charges, in connection with the events that Christmas Day in 2015.

The witness told the court that he and the accused were at a "get together" earlier that day, when McQuaid and Clarke asked him to drive them to Matthew Misener's house.

"They boys were having a couple drinks, so I figured it was better if I drive," he explained.

The witness said his two friends wanted to confront another person at Misener's house over a personal issue.

"They were going to try and figure out what was going on," he said.

The witness told the court that he waited in his truck, while McQuaid and Clarke "walked to the front door, opened the door, and went in."

Testimony of witness contrary to Misener's

On Wednesday, Misener told the court that when he saw McQuaid and and Clarke approaching that morning, he grabbed a rifle, stuck his upper body out the kitchen window, and tried to fire off a couple of warning shots to scare them away, but that the gun didn't fire.

The driver of the truck told the court Friday he had a clear view of the house, and didn't see or hear Misener.

He said McQuaid's and Clarke's visit appeared uneventful, until the two got inside.

"They were in the house, and after a bit, there was some commotion, crashing and banging," he told the court.

Witness told to 'hide the guns'

The witness said he entered the house at that point, and saw McQuaid and Clarke with gunshot wounds, a rifle on the ground, and Misener's friend on the phone with 911.

"Matt Misener asked me to hide [the guns]," said the witness. "I told him no way. I wasn't putting my fingerprints on them."

In cross-examination, the Crown asked the witness why he'd left that detail out in his interview with RCMP Christmas morning.

"A year and a half later, you come up with this additional idea that Mr. Misener asked you to hide guns," challenged prosecutor Valerie Moore.

"It was 5 o'clock in the morning. I was doing anything I could to get out of the police station to go be with my family," answered the witness.

The trial for McQuaid and Clarke is scheduled to resume on June 26.

Misener is already serving a one year jail sentence, after admitting to shooting Clarke in the thigh, and getting into a scuffle with McQuaid, that resulted in the 25-year-old being shot three times.

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